Ørsted confirmed Taiwan’s ministry of economic affairs had approved its local supply chain plan and the developer has also now signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Taiwanese utility Taipower for the site.
Under Taiwan's support system, developers that sign power deals in 2019 have a choice between receiving a 20-year flat-rate payment or a tiered tariff that decreases as production increases. Ørsted has chosen the tiered rate.
Initial onshore works will start in May 2019, Matthias Bausenwein, Ørsted’s president for the Asia-Pacific region said.
Offshore construction at both sites is due to start in 2021 ahead of commissioning in 2022, an Ørsted spokesman added.
In October 2018, Ørsted announced turbine OEM Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) as the preferred equipment supplier for the site. The Spanish firm is set to supply 112 8MW turbines to the project.
As part of the agreement SGRE committed building a nacelle assembly facility near Taichung Harbour by 2021.
Process
Ørsted was awarded the rights to the 900MW Changhua projects to Taiwan’s grid in April 2018.
It was then one of several developers to miss a January 2019 deadline to sign a PPA for a more valuable tariff.
The developer subsequently halted development of the sites due to concerns over their economic viability with the new 2019 tariffs.
But the Danish company announced it had renewed project activities following the Taiwanese ministry of economic affairs’ comprimising on the feed-in tariff rate.
.png)
.png)
.jpg)
